Sunday, June 6, 2010

Haronga v Waitangi Tribunal (Court of Appeal)

Back in January, I wrote a brief post on the High Court decision Haronga v Waitangi Tribunal. That decision has since been appealed and the Court of Appeal last month dismissed that appeal, confirming the decision of Justice Clifford in the High Court.

As I noted in my earlier post, the facts of the case are essentially as follows:

In Haronga, the application for an urgent hearing was made in September 2009 in light of Crown advice that the Crown and Te Manu Whiriwhiri (a body comprised of several mandated groups from throughout the Gisborne region) intended to initial a deed of settlement in December 2009. Mr Haronga sought an urgent hearing before the Waitangi Tribunal to address remedies for Treaty breaches specifically in relation to the Mangatu State Forest. Mr Haronga argued that redress in relation to these breaches should be addressed through the Mangatu Incorporation and that none of the groups within Te Manu Whiriwhiri had the mandate to agree a settlement in relation to those specific issues.

Judge Clark, in the Waitangi Tribunal, declined the application for an urgent hearing. Mr Haronga then applied to the High Court for judicial review of Judge Clark’s determination. Justice Clifford heard the application in the High Court:

In his judgment, Justice Clifford dismissed the application for judicial review, finding that the Tribunal’s determination was lawful. The Tribunal, when determining whether to grant a remedies hearing, is entitled to consider whether settlement negotiations are ongoing or stalled and whether or not a remedies hearing will assist with the resolution of the claim in question. It was not unlawful for Judge Clark to consider these matters in this particular case. Furthermore, it was found to be artificial to completely separate the remedies claim from the substantive claims in relation to the Mangatu forest and there was no evidence to indicate that the mandate in relation to the Mangatu forest claims had been withdrawn from the group within Te Manu Whiriwhiri that was proposing to settle those claims.

As noted above, the Court of Appeal has confirmed Justice Clifford’s decision. It is, however, interesting to note the way that the Court has characterised the issues raised as being about more than simply the procedural processes that the Waitangi Tribunal utilises in order to manage its caseload. Referring to the decision in Attorney-General v Mair, (on which I have also posted recently) the Court of Appeal is careful to note “it is unlikely that an appellate court will second-guess a tribunal’s decision as to its priorities”. Nevertheless, the Court agreed with the appellant’s view that there are substantive issues involved that relate to the right of successful claimants to seek a particular form of remedy in a meaningful way.

While the Court accepted that “a blanket refusal to consider making resumption orders because broader settlement discussions are underway may be problematic.” and stated that “an inflexible “circuit breaker only” approach to the granting of remedies hearings may be objectionable”, ultimately, it was the Court’s view that this as not the approach that had been taken by Judge Clark in the Tribunal. The Court of Appeal agreed with the decision of the High Court, which had found that Judge Clark had appropriately considered the particular merits of the application for an urgent remedies hearing and exercised his discretion to refuse such an application accordingly.

Ahi-kā-roa

Ahi-kā-roa literally means "the long-burning fires". It is a Māori concept that encapsulates the idea that decision-making authority and rights associated with land are maintained through the connection to that land and the fulfillment of obligations in relation to it.

About Me

I am of Ngāti Kahungunu and Te Aitanga-a-Māhaki descent. I am a lecturer at the Faculty of Law, Victoria University of Wellington. My primary research interests relate to the Treaty of Waitangi and indigenous legal traditions. Before joining the faculty in 2006, I worked in a number of different roles at the Waitangi Tribunal, Māori Land Court, and the Office of Treaty Settlements. I have recently completed a PhD through the University of Victoria, British Columbia. My dissertation is entitled 'The Treaty of Waitangi Settlement Process in Māori Legal History'. I am the Co-Editor of the Māori Law Review